When a startup company such as OPW Ingredients GmbH implements SAP Business ByDesign, the personnel capacity is often limited, but the time pressure is high. Making this balancing act work out well depends on finding a common wavelength between the partners.

The recommendation to look to SAP on the ERP issue came from the personal circle of OPW company founder Onno Rudolf Jongkind. The Dutch businessman and his team are specialists in the trade with natural raw materials – from fine oils for the connoisseur, to bulk deliveries for the cosmetic- and pharmaceutical industries. In this niche market, speed, and above all dependability, are of the essence. SAP Business ByDesign was first introduced to the Viersen firm at an online conference.

Aside from the simplicity argument, the decision was made for Cloud software as opposed to an On-Premise solution based on the Cloud’s flexibility, the option for batch administration with minimum shelf-life, and especially due to the fact that OPW’s “drop-shipping” business can be very efficiently illustrated with it.

In the time since our customer adopted the system their team has begun to use the full range of its advantageous features, including the modules CRM, SCM (for trade logistics) and FIN for financial accounting and Controlling. Special solutions were not required during implementation: OPW never compromises on quality, but rather follows the same philosophy in IT as in its core business: “Simple Things – Made Well”.

As Project Director I was responsible, along with two colleagues, for the process- and migration consulting; our other assignments included development and training the users. Initially, we walked the customer through an inventory of the company processes, and ascertained how they could best be illustrated and represented by SAP Business ByDesign. Thereafter, the necessary core data were installed and/or migrated, and the forms were adapted. Thus we were able to meet the productive startup deadline of January 1st and train the users in the accompanying sessions to the point where they were able to undertake minor tweaking operations on their own, very simply. This included, for example, the placing of logos or the color selection for the individual data fields.

As is well-known, the cooperation between customer and partner has a major impact on the outcome of a project. Based on my personal experience I could say immediately: the wavelength is right. With OPW, as with itelligence, it is all about quality, truth and meaningfulness. Dependability is not simply an empty word to be casually thrown around; it is lived. If creative procedures were called for, there were no detours taken. A new route was found.

Following a one-month test period, the customer went live punctually on the planned starting date. OPW is already profiting from the representation of its general processes, and in the future the team members will also be using the mobility functions, whereby in the finance department Project Director Oliver Hüsen is especially looking forward to the advantages of integrated expense accounting.

Our experience and our know-how in the raw materials trade were particularly valuable in this project. With ship- and container orders, for example, shrewd process consulting was required. When, after the Project Finale, a customer says: “We are satisfied – in fact, more than satisfied”, it naturally goes down like native organic coconut oil. That product will be in OPW’s program in the future – in the core data, the initial preparations are already well in place.